Thread: Arpaio keeps heat on migrants

Arpaio keeps heat on migrants
Sheriff lauds success of crackdown; critics fear profiling, intimidation


Daniel González daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 17, 2007 12:00 AM

http://www.azcentral.com


Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has ratcheted up his attack on illegal immigrants in recent weeks, using federally trained deputies to arrest dozens of undocumented day laborers and corn vendors.

Word of the arrests has spread like wildfire through the immigrant population, driving some undocumented workers out of Arizona and raising concerns that crimes against illegal immigrants and others will go unreported because of deportation fears.

The arrests in Cave Creek, Queen Creek, Maryvale and, most recently, on Monday outside a furniture store on East Thomas Road in Phoenix are the latest effort in Arpaio's 18-month campaign to crack down on illegal immigration in the county. advertisement

The campaign has included the arrests of smugglers and the migrants who pay to be brought into the country illegally, as well as special training so that deputies can enforce federal immigration laws. There also is a controversial hotline Arpaio launched to let the public report illegal immigrants or smuggling activity.

Arpaio said the crackdown has helped disrupt smuggling operations in the Valley, a major hub for transporting illegal immigrants from the border into the U.S. It has uncovered numerous drophouses and helped capture violent criminals who had been deported.

But it is the arrests of at least 49 day laborers and corn vendors that have raised the most concern from immigrant advocates. The arrests have come just as the state's new employer-sanctions law is taking root, adding to a climate of fear and distrust within the immigrant population, they say.

Arpaio will be in charge of enforcing the sanctions law in Maricopa County when it takes effect Jan. 1, requiring employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of new hires or risk being put out of businesses if caught knowingly hiring illegal workers.

The crackdown also comes at a time when local officials across the country are launching similar crackdowns in the wake of Congress' failure to pass immigration reform.

The crackdown has intensified even as Valley police chiefs, citing limited resources, have resisted mounting public pressure to enforce immigration laws, which is usually the job of the federal government.

So far, the crackdown has netted more than 1,058 undocumented immigrants on state and federal charges. More than 200 of those arrests have come in the past six weeks.

'I never back down'

"When I make a decision, I go full force. I never back down, and I make it a top (priority)," Arpaio said.

The crackdown began in March 2006, after County Attorney Andrew Thomas said that undocumented immigrants as well as smugglers could be charged with felonies. It was a controversial interpretation of new state law aimed at cracking down on smuggling organizations.

Of the 1,058 illegal immigrants arrested by deputies, 709 were charged under the smuggling law, including 88 coyote suspects and 621 illegal immigrants charged as co-conspirators by paying a smuggler to bring them into the country illegally.

Arpaio remains the only law-enforcement official in the state to arrest both illegal immigrants and smugglers under the law. The arrests have withstood legal challenges in state court but still face a federal challenge.

In February, Arpaio sought an accord with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help enforce federal immigration laws. The pact authorized the training of 100 deputies to arrest illegal immigrants who pose a national-security or public-safety threat and 60 jail officers to process for deportation the foreign-born inmates booked into the jail.

So far, those trained deputies have arrested more than 349 illegal immigrants out of the 1,058. In addition, trained jail deputies have put immigration holds on an additional 4,644 foreign-born inmates, a move that could lead to deportations.

Alonzo Peña, special agent in charge of ICE investigations in Phoenix, said none of the operations conducted by Arpaio's deputies have violated the terms of the agreement with ICE. Arpaio must clear all operations beforehand with ICE officials to make sure they comply with the mission to assist federal agents with the arrest of illegal immigrants involved with drug trafficking, immigrant smuggling, gang activity and more.

"If you are using our authority, it's not just to round up corn vendors and day laborers," he said. "He's not doing this in a vacuum. We knew of all these operations. We approve of all these operations," though in some cases modifications have been made.

In July, Arpaio also launched the controversial hotline that critics contend invites racial-profiling. Arpaio has advertised the hotline on 24 billboards posted on the sides of department-owned trucks. The billboards say, "Do not illegally enter. Help Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio fight illegal immigration."

The crackdown, however, has drawn praise and criticism. Supporters say he is the only law-enforcement chief in the Valley willing to navigate the political minefield of arresting illegal immigrants.

"He's willing to acknowledge that local law enforcement has a legitimate and proactive role in combating illegal immigration," said Thomas, Arpaio's ally. "It's politically incorrect to engage local law enforcement in the fight against illegal immigration. For our trouble, we have been picketed, sued, vilified in the media and threatened."

Randy Pullen, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party and an outspoken critic of illegal immigration, said he believes other Valley law-enforcement officials are bowing to political pressure from Democratic-controlled city councils and special-interest groups as well as the large and fast-growing Latino population.

"I think that's part of it. But what part of the Hispanic community are they afraid of upsetting? Not the legal ones," Pullen said.


'A red herring'

Valley police chiefs argue that limited resources should be used to arrest criminals, not migrants whose only offense is being in the country illegally.

"That's a red herring," Pullen said. "They already spend 80 to 90 percent of their resources on misdemeanor offenses that are no different than immigration misdemeanors."

Critics, meanwhile, say Arpaio is arresting illegal immigrants to grab headlines and capitalize on the public's frustration with Congress' failure to pass immigration reform.

"He's more concerned with grandstanding and media attention than he is with placing violent criminals behind bars," said Peter Schey, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law Foundation. The California-based organization is suing to stop Arpaio from arresting undocumented immigrants as conspirators under the state's anti-smuggling law.

Others accuse Arpaio of overstepping the bounds of the agreement with ICE by using federally trained deputies to round up undocumented day laborers and corn vendors. ICE, however, says the sheriff is operating within his rights.

"Sheriff Arpaio is doing immigration raids under the guise of enforcing the law," said day-labor advocate Salvador Reza, one of 25 mostly Hispanic community leaders who held a news conference Monday to denounce the arrests.

As a result, migrants are now afraid to call police to report crimes out fear they could be deported, he said

"Instead of getting rid of criminals, they are giving them safe haven because no one is going to call police," Reza said.

Dick White, president of the Valley Interfaith Project, a network of churches and faith-based groups, said undocumented immigrants living in a north Phoenix neighborhood recently learned a registered sex offender was living nearby. But the migrants were afraid to contact police to see what kind of threat the man posed. Instead, the migrants contacted their priest.

"All of us who don't have papers, we are afraid," said Nora, 40, one of the migrants.(She asked that her last name not be used because she is undocumented.)

Some undocumented workers say they are afraid to drive because of Arpaio's crackdown. Others say they are considering leaving the state, which, advocates say, could hurt the economy.

Arpaio said that indicates his crackdown, aimed at deterring illegal immigration, is working.

"If you say they are leaving, I have accomplished my mission," Arpaio said.

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Polls: Voters support Arpaio's crackdown


A majority of Arizona voters support Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's crackdown on illegal immigration, according to two new polls.

A poll conducted over the weekend by Arizona State University and Channel 8 (KAET) indicated 62 percent of voters agree with Arpaio's tough stance on illegal immigration.

The same poll, however, said voters have mixed feelings about local police enforcing immigration laws. Fifty percent said police should not enforce immigration laws; 46 percent said they should.

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication pollsters telephoned 677 voters. The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Another poll conducted early this month by Rasmussen Reports with Channel 10 (KSAZ) indicated that 74 percent of Arizona voters want Arpaio to continue sweeps and 77 percent of voters want other law-enforcement agencies to follow his lead. That poll had a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

- Daniel González
Arpaio's roundups across the Valley


Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (right) has created a specially trained unit of deputies to enforce federal immigration laws. Arpaio is using the Illegal Immigration Interdiction Unit to increase his crackdown on illegal immigrants. Those deputies have arrested more than 100 illegal immigrants recently:

Sept. 13: Twenty-five are arrested in the Wickenburg area. Arpaio said the arrests were part of a crime-suppression effort that took place over nine days.

Sept. 15: Eighteen are arrested selling corn from carts in the Maryvale area of west Phoenix. Arpaio said the eloteros, as the vendors are known in Spanish, were operating without business permits and selling contaminated food. The operation was launched after health officials tried to stop the proliferation of the carts but were run off by vendors.

Sept. 21: Seventeen are arrested during traffic stops in the Wickenburg area. Deputies were acting on a tip to a new hotline to report illegal immigrants or smuggling activity.

Sept. 25: Thirty-four are arrested after a citizen's tip about a drophouse in Tolleson.

Sept. 27: Nine are arrested leaving a church-sponsored day-labor center in Cave Creek days after the town passed a no-loitering and soliciting ordinance aimed at cracking down on day laborers. Arpaio said the sweep was the result of a tip about a smuggling operation.

Oct. 4: Sixteen undocumented day laborers are arrested in Queen Creek. Arpaio said residents complained that day laborers were harassing children at a bus stop.

Oct. 6, 7: Six are arrested at El Gran Mercado. Arpaio said deputies were investigating underage drinking at the popular outdoor swap meet off 35th Avenue in Phoenix.

Monday: Six are arrested near a Home Depot on East Thomas Road in Phoenix. Deputies were responding to area businesses complaining about day laborers trespassing, loitering and harassing children, Arpaio said.

- Daniel González

Sheriff Joe has been so successful and enjoys the support and admiration of citizens across the country. It is hard to understand why other Sheriffs don't follow his lead. I have heard of one in Georgia and another in Florida who have gotten tough, but if others are doing it they're not getting exposure for it.

"If you say they are leaving, I have accomplished my mission," Arpaio said.

What a guy.

Psalm 139:14

Day Laborers Arrested Under New Illegal Immigration Law

Oct 17, 2007 07:29 AM PDT


By: Karla Ronquillo, KOLD News 13 Producer

The toughest sheriff in America continues his fight on illegal immigration. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio had six of his deputies arrest 6 illegal immigrants in Phoenix.

The deputies were responding to complaints from business owners of day laborers hanging out at their businesses. The owners stated a numbers of workers were loitering, littering, and trespassing.

Sheriff Arpaio responded by sending in his illegal immigration unit. The deputies arrested six people on suspicion of being illegal immigrants. The arrests were made under the state's new illegal immigration law. Since enforcing the new law, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has arrested over 700 illegal immigrants.

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=7225079&nav=14RT